In case you've been living in a hole the past two weeks, Sarah Palin's daughter is pregnant. She has chosen to keep the child and marry the father. Good for her. My problem comes from Sarah Palin's argument that her daughter shouldn't have to choose.

This will be brief, because I realize by posting this entry at all I'm stoking the fires of some serious hell to pay if people have the wrong reactions.

I believe that there is no greater decision than the decision to bring human life into the world.

If I become pregnant, I will choose responsibility over the life of which I have become a steward. My life will have become inextricably bound with another, and morally I would see no other option for myself.

If I live in a world where I do not have that choice - where my reproductive system essentially belongs to a higher authority which regulates my decision to conceive, then I feel as though that higher authority has deemed me irresponsible and incapable of making the decision myself.

Somehow, I know this is wrong. If I cannot choose to put a child into the world for whom I can be loving, responsible, and present, than parenthood becomes a task rather than a blessing.

Overturn Roe v. Wade, and we will not see a decline in extramartial sexual activity or in unwanted pregnancies. We probably won't even see a decline in abortions. Abortions will likely be in high demand, expensive, and performed in unsafe conditions. I agree with most politicians that we should end federal funding towards abortions as a moral imperative, but allow the states to decide their own systems of regulating the process.

I'm interested to hear your thoughts, especially if they clash terribly with mine, and especially if you are incensed by my stance.